Descent of the Demon Master-Chapter 1367. Proving (2)

An anti-tank missile left its launcher mounted on the helicopter and rapidly descended on the road below while leaving behind spitting flames.

Ka-gagagagak!

However, the rocket got sliced apart right down the middle before it could explode properly. The two halves landed far apart from their intended target, the ensuing explosions disappointingly tame and less than half its usual intensity.

“What the f*ck is this sh*t?! Am I f*cking dreaming?! Is that it?”

The helicopter pilot could not believe what he was seeing. The best he could do was hurl expletives in sheer fluster.

The target was supposed to be a human. No, maybe not human, but something much more... monstrous!

Even so, he still must be a creature of flesh and blood, no?! Yet this monstrous something was turning the power of modern weapons into a joke!

Not only anti-tank missiles, even unguided rockets did nothing to the target. And 30mm autocannons mounted on these helicopters couldn’t even get a good aim at the target.

An attack helicopter was supposed to be the perfect amalgamation of all the scientific progress mankind had achieved up to now, yet five of them couldn’t even kill one human being and were floundering pathetically.

“Fire! Kill the target, now! Turn that goddamn mongrel into Swiss cheese already!”

“B-but we can’t even track him! The targeting system can’t identify him!”

“This useless f*cking...! It can’t even track a person?!”

All weapons were created by humans. And they were meant to be used by humans. In other words, humans needed to confirm their targets and manually aim the weapons before they could start attacking.

However, Kang Jin-Ho’s movement speed far exceeded what the weapons’ developers thought was possible for a human being. And that was where all the problems began.

Of course, targets moving faster than Kang Jin-Ho existed. After all, hadn’t humanity already developed ways to target fast-moving fighter jets? However, Kang Jin-Ho was not a fighter jet made of metal that could be detected by radar.

For these sophisticated targeting systems to target him, he was far too small, far too fast, and far too powerful!

That target was an existence that trampled on what the world thought of as the ‘standard’. No wonder the helicopters were rendered completely useless!

“Front! He’s ahead of us! Uwaaah?! To the front!”

The pilot freaked out and urgently turned his head when his co-pilot screamed from the rear seat. However, it was too late by then. His view was dominated by a massive pitch-black something flying rapidly toward the helicopter.

That was the last thing he saw in his life, too.

KA-BOOM!

The helicopter exploded in the air. Its debris rained down everywhere.

With that, all five attack helicopters dispatched to this battle had been taken out of action. Kang Jin-Ho lightly landed back on the solid ground after taking care of the pesky helicopters in the air.

The only sound he made while landing was as soft and quiet as a cat landing from a tree.

The Blood Demon worked extra hard to suppress this powerful sense of confusion and disharmony trying to overwhelm him, then let out a long gasp.

So, this was the strength of someone on the Three Kings’ level?

This spectacle finally taught the Blood Demon why the Chinese military and the government, plus countless Chinese martial artists, feared and worshiped the creatures called the Three Kings.

Like existences created by bringing together the very essence of martial arts and combining them into a living avatar, these men had transcended the limitations of human beings and were no longer bound by common sense. Which meant technology invented by men also didn’t work on them.

I guess this is how all legends start.

If this had been several centuries ago, the Three Kings would have been worshiped as gods, not mere mortals. They were capable of producing ‘miracles’ that no human made of flesh and blood could produce, after all!

The powerless folks would keep their heads bowed and pray that the wrath of these gods didn’t fall upon them.

In that case, what would the Blood Demon do now?

Clomp!

Kang Jin-Ho leisurely closed in on the Blood Demon, one step at a time.

While watching this scene, the Blood Demon couldn’t help but chuckle. He never had the power to decide, anyway. The only options available to him the moment he received the order to attack Kang Jin-Ho were either dying tamely or dying after resisting a bit.

Of course, the Blood Demon could only pick one option here.

“You are... much stronger than I thought.”

As he spoke, the Blood Demon’s body began dyeing in a distinct crimson hue. The skin outside of his military uniform, like his hands, rapidly turned red, while thick veins began bulging on his face.

“If only I had met you a little earlier, I could’ve walked a different path.”

Kang Jin-Ho disinterestedly listened while closing the distance.

“Maybe, if it was you...!”

“Are you done yapping?”

“...!”

Kang Jin-Ho bared his fangs in a cruel smirk. “I’m not interested in listening to a dead man, you see?”

“Keuh...!”

The Blood Demon tightly clenched his fists. If he had known things would come to this, maybe he should’ve asked for much, much higher bonuses from the higher-ups?

No, hang on. That won’t matter since they’ll pay me for the death benefits?

As all these useless thoughts flitted in and out of his mind, the Blood Demon’s eyes changed color to red. Even crimson mists began gushing out of his mouth, too.

Kang Jin-Ho’s appearance was strange, without a doubt. However, the Blood Demon’s appearance was so much more bizarre that even Kang Jin-Ho looked normal in comparison.

The Blood Demon’s brows shot up and he glared sharply at this opponent.

Kang Jin-Ho was right. What more could they say in this situation? When Kang Jin-Ho wanted to kill the Blood Demon, while the Blood Demon wanted to kill Kang Jin-Ho?

Since that was the case, all they had to do now was... Find out who would walk away from this battle alive!

“Kuh-waaaaaaaah!”

The Blood Demon roared like a beast and charged toward Kang Jin-Ho in a straight line. The asphalt below shattered like brittle clay every time his feet landed.

“Huwa-aaaaaht!”

The Blood Demon’s right fist, now brimming with qi-enhanced power, flew toward Kang Jin-Ho’s head like a crimson meteor.

KA-BOOOOOM!

The collision between his right fist and the Crimson Destiny produced an explosion even louder and more ferocious than when anti-tank missiles exploded.

Ka-boom! KA-BOOOOOM! BOOM!

Each and every attack led to incredible explosions and shockwaves sweeping everything in the vicinity away. The hardened asphalt crumbled and cracked apart like some shoddy flower garden besieged by a tornado.

“Uwaaaaaaah!”

The Blood Demon roared like a wounded beast. Was it because he let the blood qi take over his mind? No, of course not.

Even now, he was perfectly conscious. Logical. Rational. No matter how much the blood qi and demonic qi ran rampant in his system, he never let himself get lost in those two energies. But that only worsened this torture instead.

Nothing was working. Even though the Blood Demon’s attacks were strong enough to tear steel apart like paper...! Even though he was strong enough to destroy his way into the securest bunkers in existence! None of his attacks worked.

The Blood Demon squeezed out every ounce of strength he could muster, yet Kang Jin-Ho easily deflected or defended against the incoming attacks, all the while keeping an indifferent expression.

This was... a wall. A wall of absolute and debilitating despair!

The Blood Demon instinctively sensed his impending fate.

But... But I cannot die here!

He still had plenty of things to do. And plenty more to protect!

“Are you finished?”

Kang Jin-Ho relaxedly asked before the Blood Demon could finish his train of thoughts. A subtle smirk was etched on his face.

“You’re stronger than the Blood Demon of the past. That guy had been far too focused on useless sundry tricks, you see?”

“...!”

“However, that’s about it.”

Slice.

When Kang Jin-Ho finished talking, the Blood Demon’s right arm went flying in the air.

The Blood Demon dazedly stared at the right arm getting further and further away from his torso.

He didn’t feel any pain. But at the same time, his sense of reality also grew fainter and more distant. How many people in this world would get to spectate as their arms got severed, after all?

“Uh...?”

Slice, chop!

Next up was the legs; the Blood Demon’s legless body plopped down before tumbling around on the ground. Even before his head could process what just happened, the destroyed asphalt greeted his face first.

“Cough!”

Blood gushed out from the Blood Demon’s mouth. Every muscle left in his body twisted and ached murderously.

Kang Jin-Ho’s cold eyes locked on the figure of the Blood Demon, now legless and one of his arms missing.

“You said you’ve heard a lot about me.”

“...!”

“If that’s true, what made you think you’d be fine after attacking me?”

“I... I...!”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression grew even icier just then.

“Besides, how dare you try to fool me?”

The Blood Demon’s eyes powerfully quaked just then.

Kang Jin-Ho slowly extended his foot and slightly pressed down on the Blood Demon’s head.

“I’ve never spared anyone daring to attack me. That will not change now. Even if I don’t finish the job right away, it’ll get done sooner or later.”

“...!”

“I’ll find you. Be patient until then. Until your unavoidable death comes for you.”

Crush!

The body of the Blood Demon went limp when his skull was crushed. Kang Jin-Ho stared expressionlessly at the corpse before coolly turning around to leave.

Rumble, whoosh...

He even returned the Crimson Destiny and the Azuremourne back to subspace, too.

Lee Hyeon-Su rushed to where Kang Jin-Ho was and bowed deeply. “Thank you for your hard work, sir!”

“Mm,” Kang Jin-Ho responded with a simple nod, then his expression grew somber. “That... is no longer usable, right?”

“...Eiii, sir. You’re being unreasonable.”

Kang Jin-Ho smacked his lips ruefully while staring at the one-half of the jeep.

“I see. Then, it can’t be helped, can it...?”

When Kang Jin-Ho tried to grab the back of Lee Hyeon-Su’s neck, the latter freaked out and shouted loudly as if his life depended on it.

“L-look, sir! Over there! Behind you! There are other cars, you know!”

“Mm?”

Kang Jin-Ho turned his head to look. Sure enough, he could see multiple abandoned cars in the distance. It seemed the drivers and their passengers heard all the explosions and decided that running away on foot was better for their self preservation.

“Surely, one of those cars must still have its keys with it! Let’s grab that instead!”

Kang Jin-Ho frowned slightly. “But it’ll get stuffy in there? Unlike an open-top jeep...”

“B-but! You need to manage your stamina, sir! Don’t worry, I’ll make the drive as comfortable as possible!”

“Hmm...?”

Kang Jin-Ho finally lowered his threatening hand looming over his victim’s neck.

Lee Hyeon-Su was right. They couldn’t predict what was in store, so conserving his stamina seemed like a wise move.

Kang Jin-Ho glanced at Chang Piljae next. “What about that dude, though?”

“Well, as long as he’s alive,” Lee Hyeon-Su replied with a wry grin.

He could see how twisted and broken Chang Piljae’s various body parts were. To think that man would endure such injuries and even walk out of all those explosions with his life intact! Now that was one hell of a miracle, alright.

Chang Piljae dragged his broken body toward the two men and lifelessly muttered, “Sorry, but... I don’t think I can drive anymore.”

Lee Hyeon-Su chuckled sheepishly. “Don’t worry, I’ll take over. And we won’t abandon you here because you’re no longer useful.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really. Seriously, what do the NIS teach its agents, anyway?”

Whether someone was useful or not, the Martial Assembly always looked after that individual as long as they were on the same boat. However, it seemed the NIS didn’t share that sentiment, judging from how relieved Chang Piljae looked just now.

Lee Hyeon-Su grimaced while scanning the destruction around him. “Looks like these bastards have completely lost their minds, sir. We’re in the middle of a public road, yet this...!”

Kang Jin-Ho wordlessly nodded. Looking at this destruction really drove home the point that the Chinese government was serious about killing him.

“For now, the best option available to us is leaving the country as quickly as possible. Since they’ve resorted to deploying attack helicopters, who knows what they will try next?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

Although Kang Jin-Ho didn’t mind killing any enemy coming after him, that wouldn’t resolve this situation. Besides, even he couldn’t fight against the might of the entire People’s Liberation Army, anyway.

Then again, that job didn’t belong to him in the first place.

“Let’s go,” said Kang Jin-Ho, then headed to the abandoned cars in the distance.

“Yes, sir,” Lee Hyeon-Su responded, then quickly caught up to his boss.

“E-excuse me...?”

However, when Chang Piljae called out, Lee Hyeon-Su stopped and looked behind. “Eh?”

“I, I don’t think I can walk anymore.”

Lee Hyeon-Su stared at Chang Piljae in obvious disappointment before sighing grandly. He then walked over to the injured man before supporting the latter up via the shoulder.

“Ouch! Aaaaaahk?! H-hold on! Wait! My ribs! My ribs down there!”

Lee Hyeon-Su tutted. “Please shut up before I turn you into braised ribs.”

“...”

“If you’re alive, you can always fix your ribs, right? So endure it for now.”

How was Chang Piljae supposed to endure this pain, though? What an inhuman thing to suggest that was!

While not giving a toss about what Chang Piljae’s sentiments were like, Lee Hyeon-Su picked up the injured man and headed to the abandoned cars.

Obviously, things wouldn’t end here. Even if this was China, losing five attack helicopters should hurt. There should be a limit to the level of combat units the military could mobilize just to kill two individuals, after all.

Lee Hyeon-Su caught up to Kang Jin-Ho and asked, “Sir, do you think they’ll back off after this?”

“No, they won’t.”

“Which means... We gotta get as far away as possible before their higher-ups sober up and come after us again.”

Kang Jin-Ho glanced behind him. “Nah, it should be fine. They’ll need around a day to wake up, anyway.”

“Sorry?”

After leaving behind that mysterious prediction, Kang Jin-Ho walked faster toward the cars.

“Wait for me, sir! Let’s go together.”

Lee Hyeon-Su also sped up and ran after his boss.

“Huk! Urgh!” 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Chang Piljae’s pained gasps and pitiful moans lazily drifted away on this now-deserted stretch of the road.